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Objectives: The aim was to study self-image and the level of psychological symptoms in patients with symptoms attributed to their dental restorative materials.

Materials and methods: A questionnaire containing questions regarding dental and medical history was answered by 257 participants, one group with local oral symptoms only (LSO), and one group with multi-symptoms (M-S). A reference group was randomly selected from a research database at the Department of Psychology, Umeå University, Sweden. The self-image was assessed using the Structural Analysis of Social Behavior (SASB). Psychological symptoms such as somatization, depression, and anxiety were assessed using the Symptom Check List 90 (SCL-90) and the Global Severity Index (GSI) was used to determine the level of psychological symptoms.

Results: SASB showed that the M-S group and the LSO-group scored significantly higher on the Bspontaneous^ and Bpositive self-image^ than the reference group. In the SCL-90, the M-S group scored significantly higher than the LSO-group and the references on the somatization subscales. On depression, anxiety, and the GSI scale, the M-S group scored significantly higher than the reference group.

Conclusions: The two subgroups scored significantly higher on the SASB Spontaneous and Positive clusters which indicates that these patients have an excessively positive self-image, are very spontaneous and have an overconfidence in themselves compared to the reference group. In the M-S group there was a clear tendency to somatization, depression, and anxiety and they were more psychologically stressed than the reference group.

Clinical relevance: Among the patients with illness attributed to their dental materials, the M-S-patients had a significantly higher level of general psychological distress and somatization than the control group which may lead to mental stress.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of the present study was to determine the types of side-effects occurring and for how long they lasted in a group of patients with side-effects assessed to be caused by resin-based materials. METHODS: A total of 618 reports were received by the Swedish National Register of Side-Effects to Dental Materials, among which 36 were on patients with reactions assessed to be caused by resin-based restorative materials. The group examined consisted of 25 women and 11 men, with a mean age of 47.8 +/- 15.6 years. A follow-up was done through a structured telephone interview. RESULTS: The majority of symptoms were intra-oral or a combination of intra-oral and extra-oral symptoms that appeared within the first 24 hr after treatment. The most common adverse effects reported were skin problems, oral ulcers, and burning mouth. Within less than a week, the reactions had disappeared in 50% of the patients. CONCLUSION: Immediate reactions to resin-based materials were more prevalent than delayed allergic reactions, and the mechanism of the immediate reactions is probably non-allergic in most cases. There is a need for developing provocation tests to verify the association between the reaction and the material, and also to identify the offending component.